The Elgin watch company, out of Elgin, Illinois, was in business from 1864-1964, and while active, was the largest-producing American watch company, manufacturing an estimated half of all pocket watches ("dollar" watches not included). By 1956 they had produced over 55 million pocket and wrist watches.

This watch is in good running condition, unless otherwise noted in the description. This means that on receipt, pending any item-specific running conditions noted in the description, you can expect the watch to be winding and setting properly and to run smoothly while keeping reasonable time. We consider "reasonable time" to meet these basic guidelines:

Railroad Grade Watches will be keeping +/- 5 minutes per day

Pocket and Wrist Watches with 15 or more jewels will be keeping +/- 10 minutes per day

All key wind watches and watches with 14 or fewer jewels will be keeping +/- 15 minutes per day

The above guideline is the lowest standard in which we would ship out a watch, however in most cases, you will see much better timekeeping. Most of our watches have been in storage for many years, so if you plan on carrying/wearing them everyday, you should consider having them cleaned and oiled soon, and then once a year thereafter to keep them in top running condition. If the watches will be for occasional use or display, they should be cleaned and serviced every 3 to 5 years depending on use.

We do have a professional watchmaker that does all of our cleaning and repair work for us. To have your watch serviced before shipping, simply add this Cleaning/Service Agreement to your shopping basket. The cleaning and timing service is $95, and depending on the time of the year, has a turnaround time of 1 to 3 weeks.

Please note that we provide this service in addition to the listed purchase price of our watches. If you do purchase this option and later decide to return the watch, this fee is non-refundable.

This is considered a "railroad-grade" pocket watch. To be a railroad-grade watch, the following criteria must be met:

be 16S or 18S

have 17 or more jewels

be lever set

be in an open face case

be adjusted to 5 or more positions.

In order to ensure the accuracy of pocket watches used by railroad employees, with the ultimate goal of preventing train accidents, the General Railroad Timepiece Standards Commission published a set of guidelines for railroad companies and watch manufacturers in 1893. These guidelines, which specified the criteria for a railroad-grade watch, were prepared by Webb C. Ball, the general time inspector of North American railroads and founder of the Ball Watch Company.

Unlike modern quartz watches, most vintage watches need daily winding in order to keep the watch functioning for timekeeping. Additionally, there are a number of different ways to set the time other than simply pulling the crown away from the watch body. We are happy to provide an overview of each of the different setting types on our "How To Use" page, where we also provide information on proper winding techniques for each style and some suggestions for the proper long term care and storage of your watch.

We process a very large number of watches and accessories each year for sale via our web site, eBay and local avenues. We attempt to offer descriptions and photos that are as complete and clear as possible on each item, and we always encourage you to write us with questions if something is not addressed in the description!

We offer a 30-day return period beginning the day you receive your items for all PM Time Service merchandise. To receive a full refund, the item must be return in "as shipped" condition, with no new personalized engravings or end-user adaptions. Items damaged in transit will be eligible for the full refund pending the application of the insurance claim on the damaged watch or item. Please see our Shipping & Return Policy page for full details.

Holiday & Vacation Dates - Unless otherwise noted on our holiday page, you can expect an order placed to be processed and shipped out within 2-3 business days, often much sooner. If you need an item quickly, please do double check our holiday page to make sure we will be in the office!

In order to provide a fair and secure shipping experience for our customers, we require full insurance for the total value of your order with all items purchased. You can view the amounts required to cover full insurance on your order on our Shipping Overview page, and it will also update automatically on the shipping estimator. At this time, we do not allow for a customer to opt-out of insurance on their shipments.

We are happy to accept PayPal, as well as checks and money orders, for payment on all orders.

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We may also offer this product for purchase from our other PM Time Service online shops, should you prefer a different purchasing platform or wish to use a credit card outside of the PayPal processing system. If this item is already listed on these marketplaces, links to those listings are provided below; otherwise, a "contact us" link will appear allowing you to request a custom listing be created for you.

PM Time Service eBay Store:

Currently available only at pmtime.com; contact us to request this item be listed on eBay.

PM Time Service Etsy Shop:

Currently available only at pmtime.com; contact us to request this item be listed on Etsy.

Our Story

Welcome to the family owned business web site for PM Time Service. Initially started as a hobby during the 1960s, our business, officially established in 1976 by Paul and Gail Zuercher, has worked steadily to provide our customers with high quality antique and vintage pocket watches, wrist watches and watch accessories. Today, Catherine Zuercher carries on the 2nd generation of service and is delighted to work with our new and returning customers to place these fine old timekeepers with new owners.